There are many planting devices on the market for assisting one in planting various kinds of seeds. Aside from the mechanical and automatic devices for mass planting, on huge farms, there is a need for devices to help the very, very many amateur gardeners of small plots who derive enormous satisfaction from their gardens--and, indeed, may rely on them for supplemental food.
There are some devices for small gardens and for planting individual seeds. However, most of these are designed for planting seeds from a stooped or kneeling position. These are effective, but make planting relatively slow and tedious, and do not take into account a large group of people, including the elderly and disabled--and for whom gardening could be an important outlet and therapy--who have trouble bending or kneeling. This would also include people in wheel chairs, who cannot plant seeds at all in the normal manner. And, even active gardeners, who can bend and kneel, can become fatigued by planting large numbers of seeds from a kneeling or stooping position.
There is, therefore, a need for a device that can plant a variety of types of seeds, singly or in clusters, at any desired depth, at a precise location, or even move seedlings from one location to another, at the proper stage in their development, all from a relatively relaxed and comfortable standing position. Of equal importance is to provide a simple device, easily stored and handled, and easy to use for a variety of purposes.
In addition to planting a seed or seeds at a precise location and depth, it is essential to water the seeds or seedlings as soon as possible, and sometimes to provide certain types and amounts of chemicals or fertilizer to improve the germination and growth of the seeds. This usually requires a second tour around the newly-seeded plot to water the ground and add the desired supplements of fertilizer.
In this case the water must sink down through the earth to, hopefully, reach each individual seed eventually. The fertilizing material may take even longer to sink into the ground and reach the seed. While the seed needs only a little water and maybe some fertilizer to germinate, a lot or water and fertilizer must be spread around the planted seeds to make sure that at least the little water and fertilizing agents reach the seed. While this is usually successful, it is inevitably haphazard, and inefficient in comparison with the system taught here.
There is, therefore, also a need for a system or device that can not only plant a seed, but add a precise amount of water, fertilizer--or other supplementary agents--directly to the seed itself when and where it is planted, leaving no delays and nothing to chance.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a planting and soil controlling device that can be used from a standing position, or an elevated position, as from a wheel chair. It is a further object of this invention to provide a simple, elongated device that can be pushed into the ground at any desired place to inject a seed into the ground at a given depth. It is a further object of this invention to provide a device that can apply a given, minimal, amount of water and fertilizer, as well as materials such as humus, vermiculite, or top soil, directly in contact with each individual seed to facilitate its germination and growth. It is a further object of this device to provide a planting device that is easily handled, easily cleaned, and easily stored, and that can plant seeds individually or in clusters at any given depth.